The Prophet from Beit El/2

The Prophet from Beit El

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Reversal of Prophecy

The Prophet from Beit El hoped that by having the Man of God disobey his own words and prophetic sign, he could undo the prophecy against Beit El (and restore legitimacy to the worship taking place there.)

Sources:modern scholars¹

Timing of the incident – R"E Samet suggests that our chapter is a direct continuation of Chapter 12 and takes place towards the beginning of Yerovam's reign, when he stood before the assembled crowd to bring incense on the altar in honor of his new holiday.²

Miracles of the Man of God

Yerovam's invitation – R. Samet suggests that Yerovam was hoping that if the prophet acquiesced to eat by him, it would be taken as a sign that, despite the devastating prophecy, the Man of God did not view the city of Beit El and its king as reprehensible.  A public, positive response from the prophet³ would have provided much needed legitimacy to Yerovam's religious upheaval.

Prohibition of eating and drinking in Beit El – It was for this very reason that Hashem prohibited the Man of God from eating or drinking in Beit El.  The refusal to partake in a meal in Beit El symbolized the total rejection of the city, and moreover, that such rejection began already in the present (even if the full prophecy was only to be fulfilled in the future).⁴

Prohibition of returning via the same path – Prof. Simon suggests that returning to one's point of departure and retracing one's footsteps signify a cancelling of the journey.⁵  Thus, had the prophet returned the way he had come it would have been viewed as a reversal of his mission and decree.⁶ R. Samet adds that going via a new path signifies the opposite, that "דבר ה' אחור לא ישוב ריקם".‎⁷ 

הנביא מבית אל: True or false  prophet? According to this approach, the prophet from Beit El was a false prophet.⁸  R. Samet suggests, moreover, that he was closely connected to Yerovam's new religious enterprise and served to give it a prophetic stamp of approval.⁹

Why wasn't the נביא at the ceremony? T. Verdiger¹⁰ questions that according to R. Samet, it is difficult to understand why the prophet from Beit El was not present at the ceremony during  the holiday, if he was so central to the enterprise. R. Samet suggests that the absence can be explained due to the infirmities of his old age.¹¹

How was the man of God convinced?

Harsh punishment

Why does the navi get the prophecy?

חוטא נשכר?

Test of Prophet

The Prophet from Beit El did not know if the Man of God was a legitimate prophet or an emissary sent by Rechovam to attack Beit El for political reasons. His invitation was intended to discover whether or not he truly spoke the word of Hashem.

Sources:modern scholars¹²

Prohibition of eating and drinking in Beit El

הנביא מבית אל: True or false prophet? According to these sources, the prophet from Beit El was atrue prophet

Act of Altruism

The prophet's motives were misguided, but altruistic. He simply wanted to prevent the Man of God from going home hungry.

Sources:Abarbanel

Personal Gain

The prophet from Beit El aimed to protect his prophetic business and standing with the king / hoped to sway the Man of God to defect to Beit El and work with him in his prophetic business.

Sources:Josephus, modern scholars

¹ See Prof. U. Simon, "אות נבואי גובר על שלושת מפיריו- מלך ישראל, נביא בית אל ואיש האלהים מיהודה", in קריאה ספרותית במקרא: סיפורי נביאים (Jerusalem, 1997) 157-188, and R"E Samet, גדול הוא קידוש ה' מחילול ה' - מלכים א' פרק י"ג - סיפר ופשרו in Megadim 6 (Alon Shevut, 1988): 55-85.

² The phrase "וְיָרׇבְעָם עֹמֵד עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְהַקְטִיר" in verse 1 of our chapter echoes and continues the last verse of Chapter 12: " וַיַּעַל עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה בְּבֵית אֵל בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁמִינִי בַּחֹדֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר בָּדָא [מִלִּבּוֹ] (מלבד) וַיַּעַשׂ חָג לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעַל עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְהַקְטִיר."

³ R. Samet is assuming that a large crowd had come to Beit El for the holiday so the prohet's response would have made an impact on the masses.

⁴ R. Samet compares the city to an עיר נדחת, a city of idolators which is designated to destruction and from which it is prohibited to benefit. See RadakMelakhim I 13:9-21About R. David Kimchi who similarly explains that due to the idolatrous nature of the city, it was prohibited to enter it except to rebuke the people.  See also RalbagMelakhim I 13:9-18Melakhim I Toalot 13:16About R. Levi b. Gershom who claims that the prohibition to benefit from the city signified that it was to be totally destroyed.  Prof. Simon compares this to the symbolic acts done by Yirmeyahu (not to marry, or enter a house of parties etc) which represented the doomed nature of Yerushalayim.

⁵ He compares it to the command not to return to Egypt to buy horses, where Hashem says, "לֹא תֹסִפוּן לָשׁוּב בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה עוֹד".  Willingly returning to Egypt is considered a lack of recognition of the Exodus, a undoing of sorts of the original miracle.

⁶ Cf. Ralbag, "וצוהו שלא ישוב בדרך אשר בא בה אל בית אל כאילו יעיר כי דרכו אשר דרך בה ללכת לבית אל לאמר אלו הדברים אשר אמר שם אין בה תועלת". 

⁷ He and Prof. Simon mainly disagree only in whether they view the prohibitions as prophetic signs, or reactive measure. Prof. Simon asserts that they are signs meant to buttress the original message of the Man of God, while R. Samet suggests that they do not have independent value and serve only to negate the invitations of Yerovam and the Prophet from Beit El.  He views them as Hashem's preempting of potential problems to come (הקדים רפואה למכה).

⁸ See Bavli SanhedrinSanhedrin 104aAbout the Bavli, Targum YonatanMelakhim I 13:11About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, RashiMelakhim I 13:11-20About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, RadakMelakhim I 13:9-21About R. David Kimchi, and RalbagMelakhim I 13:9-18Melakhim I Toalot 13:16About R. Levi b. Gershom who all agree.

⁹ Just as the priests of Beit El were not true priests, but replacements, the prophets were similarly false, but nonetheless provided legitimacy for the masses.  Later in Melakhim II 23:18, the נביא הזקן is described as the prophet from Shomron, leading R. Samet to suggest that he was originally from the region of Shomron in Ephraim and was recruited by Yerovam to move to Beit El to help push through his reforms.

¹⁰ See her article, "ושבתם וראיתם בין צדיק לרשע" in Megadim 8 (Alon Shevut, 1989):97-104

¹¹ T. Verdiegr correctly points out that his old age did not prevent him later in the story from pursuing the Man of God.

¹² See Tamar Verdiger, "ושבתם וראיתם בין צדיק לרשע" in Megadim 8 (Alon Shevut, 1989):97-104,  Alex Israel, "The Altar, the Prophet, and the Lion" and Chen-Tzion Nayot, "נביא ונבואה".  See also Hoil Moshe who agrees that the prophet's motives were to test the Man of God, but suggests that this was not because he wanted to see if he was Rechovam's spokesman rather than a true prophet. Rather, the prophet wanted to ascertain whether the Man of God spoke in Hashem's name or in his own name (but nonetheless merited that Hashem acquiesce to perform a miracle on his behalf).